Chromaffin cell

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Epinephrine

Norepinephrine

Adrenal gland. (Medulla labeled at bottom right.)

Chromaffin cells are neuroendocrine cells found in the medulla of the adrenal gland and in other ganglia of the sympathetic nervous system. They are derived from the embryonic neural crest.

[edit] Function

Chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla are innervated by the splanchnic nerve and secrete adrenaline, noradrenaline, and enkephalin into the bloodstream. As such, they play an important role in the fight-or-flight response. They are also referred to as granules and this is where the enzyme dopamine-hydroxylase catalyzes th conversion of dopamine to norepinephrine.

[edit] Nomenclature

These cells are so-named because they can be visualized by staining with chromium salts. Chromaffin salts oxidize and polymerize catecholamines to form a brown color, most strongly in the cells secreting noradrenaline.

(The enterochromaffin cells cells are named because of their histological similarity to chromaffin cells, but their function is quite different.)